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Ele está contratado.

Ele está contratado.
He is hired.
FromLesson 10inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Ele está contratado.

ele
he
estar
to be
contratado
hired

Questions & Answers about Ele está contratado.

What does Ele está contratado mean in English?
It means "He is hired" or "He is contracted", indicating that he is currently in a state of employment.
Why is the verb estar used instead of ser in this sentence?
In Portuguese, estar is used to express temporary states or conditions, whereas ser denotes permanent or inherent qualities. Here, Ele está contratado focuses on his present, temporary state of being hired rather than implying an intrinsic characteristic.
Is contratado functioning as a past participle or as an adjective in this sentence?
Contratado is the past participle of the verb contratar and functions as an adjective that describes the subject's current state.
Can Ele está contratado be considered a passive construction?
While it appears similar to a passive construction in English, it’s really a description of a state. In Portuguese, a true passive voice would typically use ser (e.g., Ele foi contratado), so estar with a past participle emphasizes the resulting condition.
How does Ele está contratado differ from Ele foi contratado?
Ele está contratado emphasizes his current state of being hired, whereas Ele foi contratado focuses on the past action of hiring. The first tells you how things are now, and the second details the event that took place.
Does the form of contratado change when referring to a female subject?
Yes. In Portuguese, adjectives agree in gender and number with the subject. For a female subject, you would say Ela está contratada instead of Ele está contratado.
Is the meaning of Ele está contratado the same in European and Brazilian Portuguese?
Yes, the sentence carries the same meaning in both variants—it indicates that he is currently in the state of being hired. Although there can be slight usage differences in other contexts, this construction is understood similarly in both.
Could this sentence be used in conversation to confirm someone's employment status?
Absolutely. In a conversational context, someone might ask "Está contratado?" using the same structure to confirm if a person has been hired.
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